Chapter 227: Theodore Gave Up On Life

After beating up all the Terra Beasts, Raiden and co. moved on from there back to their campsite. Since this was a private domain, he didn’t want to kill any more Terra Beasts than necessary.

While Raiden was walking forward nonchalantly while playing with Rose and Neva, Theodore was trailing behind him with his head hung low.

"Are you okay, little Theo??" Aria, who was walking next to him, asked softly.

"Big sis, tell me something really honestly. Do you think I am really not talented?" He asked with a forlorn expression on his face.

"Huh, why do you think that?? You are one of the most talented people in our entire clan! At this same age, almost nobody can do one-on-one. You even got into Archon Academy!! If that is not talented, I don’t know what is." Aria spoke up, looking at him weirdly.

"Really? I am so talented. Then why do I feel very weak when compared to him??" Theodore pointed to Raiden, who was walking in the front, instantly turning Aria speechless.

She had no idea how to console or reply to him.

Was Theodore talented? Undoubtedly. But when compared to Raiden, he did seem like an untalented person.

"You can’t compare yourself to a beast like him. You are plenty talented at your level." Aria spoke very patiently as she patted his back.

"But what makes him so special? I don’t get it. I was born and brought up with the best resources available in the clan. I went to the best academy in all the world, and I constantly trained in the best state-of-the-art place with the most overqualified teachers." Theodore started ranting, causing Aria to feel a loss of words.

"Do you know? When we competed in the Inter City Tournament, I felt like there wasn’t much gap between us. Except for the final match where I felt he surpassed me, for most of the tournament, I felt like there was just a minute difference between our powers."

"So I went to Archon Academy and trained really, really hard to become strong, and just when I thought I was catching up to him and could give him an equal fight and beat him when we met again, it turned out the other guy stopped playing on the same field long ago!!! This just makes me want to give up and stop trying..."

Theodore’s frustration was very clearly visible in his words as he ranted on and on, causing Aria, who was walking next to him, to turn silent.

"You know, Theo... sometimes there in this world, there are these geniuses who emerge in the wild that go on to define an era. They all have different characteristics.

"Some of them are very weak until the end, until they grow up and become powerhouse suddenly, while others have grown up as invincible powerhouses from the start... But they all have one thing that is common among them... Do you know what that is??"

"What is it??" Theodore asked instinctively.

"The Heart of a Powerhouse," Aria spoke extremely solemnly.

"The Heart of a Powerhouse...??" Theodore felt confused.

"Yes. The Heart of a Powerhouse. Every single one of them has so much confidence in themselves that they will grow up and become undoubtedly strong, stronger than anybody else. They have that confidence. It doesn’t matter if they lose or go down or die in the process, but they never ever give up on themselves."

"You may think Raiden might have been living an extremely leisurely life at the farm, but the truth is he has been in constant life-and-death battles in these past few months. While you were training with your classmates in training in the academy, he was facing life-and-death battles in the army, facing against the Golden Tier and Platinum Tier Terra Beasts at Silver Tier.

"Hell, he had to participate in the battle for city survival and faced directly against Diamond-Tier Terra Beasts, putting his life on the line. So you think he is living a very comfortable life, but in truth he had to shed a lot of blood and tears to get here, but he never ever gave up. Even when facing impossible odds where the chances of survival are zero, he gave it his all to fight back. That’s what makes him unique and stronger than anybody else. That’s the Heart of a Powerhouse."

Theodore fell into thought after hearing her words. Aria also didn’t say anything; she held her breath, letting him think for himself.

In all honesty, she didn’t know what she was talking about herself. She had ripped off half of this speech from the teacher whom she met at the New Year’s Party, and the other half, she heard about from Maple, who told her about all his deeds and fights. She just hoped that this chicken soup for the soul worked on her little brother.

After a few minutes of silent walking, Theodore lifted his head, his eyes filled with resolve.

"You are completely right, big sister. I’m sorry; I like to witness an extremely embarrassing side of me. I won’t doubt myself anymore. He may be stronger than me right now, but I have my own journey. I’m confident that in the end I won’t fall behind anybody else."

A huge smile appeared on Aria’s face as she heard him talk.

She clenched her fists silently while cheering inwardly to herself.

’Success!!’

"What are you talking about, you brat?! Do you feel embarrassed by me? I saw you running around buck-naked in your childhood, peeing everywhere. And you have the gall to say you feel embarrassed, Humph."

"Big sister!!"

A smile appeared on Raiden’s face, who was walking in the front. With his heightened senses, this kind of conversation naturally couldn’t escape him.

He knew his actions would have been a serious hit to Theodore’s mind, but he couldn’t really help it. He couldn’t very well let those wild Terra Beasts attack and kill them, could he??

That’s why he deliberately distanced himself, leaving the consoling to his sister.

"The Heart of a Powerhouse, huh? How nice..."